For a period of time, the industrial robot market has flourished and the market size has reached a historic high. How to better enhance the competitiveness of domestic industrial robot brands and upgrade the level of industrialization has become a very important issue in the economic field. Currently, the use of industrial robots in the field of industrial manufacturing is becoming one of the iconic technologies promoting new industrialization.
As early as the late 1950s, manufacturing industries in countries such as Europe, America, and Japan began using industrial robots. Entering the new century, industrial robots are increasingly integrating information technology and artificial intelligence factors, becoming the "star" of high-tech industrial production. In short, industrial robots have emerged and grown with the development of modern industry. In advanced industrialized countries, there will be a larger stage for industrial robots in most cities. As a developing country, China's industrial robots started relatively late and began to explore in the 1980s. By the 21st century, they had a certain scale of commercial applications in a few fields and began to enter competitive markets.
Later on, those who excel will perform exceptionally well once they exert their efforts, rather than following suit. The development of industrial robots in China has had a technological innovation orientation towards new industrialization since its inception. China's vast and complete industrial economic system makes industrial robots like tree species scattered on fertile land: sprouting, growing, growing, and becoming forests. As a "world factory", China's industrial robots have enormous potential in terms of application scenarios and market scale, as well as the cultivation of industrial robot manufacturing capabilities, which are driven by both demand and supply. Due to the fact that robots were called upon by new industrialization from the very beginning of their emergence or introduction in our country, they bear the imprint of the era of new industrialization. Therefore, those who mention and pay attention to industrial robots are thinking and acting for new industrialization, exploring feasible paths and innovative methods for technological innovation in new industrialization.
In terms of its fundamental nature, the birth and early use of industrial robots were mainly aimed at replacing and enhancing the "human hand" function. Robots are more powerful and hardworking than natural humans. As long as they are given instructions and prescribed programs, industrial robots can become precise, stable, and tireless executors and operate automatically. This reflects the fundamental orientation of the nature of industrial technology.
Entering the stage of new industrialization, the technological orientation of industrial robots is increasingly inclined to replace and extend the "human brain" function, and explore the implantation of generative artificial intelligence to produce industrial robots with higher levels of artificial intelligence. This is the evolution direction of the core connotation of industrial robot technology in the new era, reflecting the trend requirements of new industrialization and future industry.
From the perspective of fortune, the world market for industrial robots is gradually becoming larger. Research institutions estimate that from 2022 to 2031, the global industrial robot market is expected to have a compound annual growth rate of 27%. At present, China is the world's largest market for industrial robots. According to data from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), the new installed capacity of industrial robots in China's market reached 268200 units in 2021, accounting for approximately 51.9% of the global market during the same period.
Data shows that from 2015 to 2022, the localization rate of industrial robots in China increased from 17.5% to 35.5%, which means that the proportion of domestic industrial robots is still less than 40%; Foreign brand industrial robots account for over 60% of the market share. Moreover, domestic brands mainly focus on small industrial robots, while foreign brands still have an advantage in large industrial robots with higher technical and quality requirements. Even for small industrial robots, there is still a certain gap in the technical level of performance, accuracy, and durability between domestic equipment and foreign brands.
In most manufacturing sectors, the penetration rate of industrial robots is relatively low, and domestic brand industrial robots have many opportunities for penetration. Especially in some emerging fields, it can become a breakthrough point for domestic industrial robots. For example, make efforts in the field of collaborative robots in the industrial robot branch. Compared with traditional industrial robots, collaborative robots have the characteristics of safety, ease of use, and flexibility. Especially in areas with high requirements for flexible operations, the continued reliance on manpower provides more opportunities for the penetration of collaborative robots.
The widespread penetration of industrial robots into the industrial field can drive the extension of the supply chain and improve the quality of the supply chain. Even if foreign industrial robot brands enter China to establish factories, it will drive the connection between foreign supply chain systems and the Chinese market, and the joint efforts of Chinese and foreign brands will drive the development and layout of domestic component manufacturers. At present, except for operating systems and specialized chips, almost all other core components of collaborative robots can be domestically produced. The growth of the local supply chain will in turn feed back the overall competitiveness of domestic industrial robots, becoming a powerful enabling force for new industrialization, making it "unique on this side of the landscape".